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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 12, 2020 21:16:41 GMT
time: day, midmorning weather: clear characters: Professor Victoria Yew, Roran Drosslbattle mechanics: none Professor Yew "Roran Drossl?" the professor asked the waiting room, hoping that she was pronouncing that last name correctly. It was a slow morning, so she was able to identify the only man in the waiting room as Roran. He didn't look like most of the other trainers Professor Yew had met: he was notably older, not exactly handsome -- not that physical attractiveness was a qualification, of course -- and the professor thought she caught a slightly negative cast to his features, perhaps a bitterness ... or maybe she was projecting. She certainly didn't want to judge him by his appearance, so she banished such thoughts from her mind. "You're here to pick up a starter Pokemon, correct?"how can we claim to understand something we've never experienced?
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Roran Drossl
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New Trainer
Posts: 13
Gender: Male
Linked accounts: Antimoany
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Post by Roran Drossl on Aug 12, 2020 22:25:18 GMT
Roran's grip on the hem of his coat tightened at the sound of his own name. He made himself let go; he hadn't realised he'd been lightly fingering the fine stitching. Waiting rooms always made him feel out of place, as though he'd forgotten something, or somehow ended up in a place he shouldn't be. Roran rose to his feet, and reminded himself to force a smile.
"Yes, that's right," he agreed, and felt the muscles in his back unbunch with the words. Being reminded of why he was there made it easier to be there...or maybe it was simply the promise of leaving the purgatory that was a waiting room. "Something I've put off too long already. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Professor."
While having to look slightly up to make polite eye contact was so normal to the short trainer-to-be that he barely thought about it these days, it did feel a surprise to have to do it for the Professor. Without really thinking about it, he'd developed an image of her in his mind. That image was both less slight, and less tall. If he hadn't such exciting prospects in his immediate future, Roran might have stopped to examine why that was.
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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 13, 2020 1:40:42 GMT
Professor Yew The professor smiled at Roran, noticing that he seemed a bit nervous. That didn't surprise her; a lot of the people picking up starters wrestled with their nerves. She'd like to set him at ease, if she could. "It's no problem. I'm glad you're here. This way, please."Assuming he followed her, she would lead Roran down the hall to a plain white room of moderate size, furnished only with two chairs that sat beside the device set into the wall. The device itself held six Pokeballs in safe little cups, with wires leading to a screen on the wall beside it. Six Pokeballs ... six possible future companions for Roran. how can we claim to understand something we've never experienced?
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Roran Drossl
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New Trainer
Posts: 13
Gender: Male
Linked accounts: Antimoany
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Post by Roran Drossl on Aug 13, 2020 4:05:18 GMT
Shadowing at a distance, Roran kept pace with the Professor until she stepped into a room and he didn't. He froze in the doorway for a moment, a strange sense of foreboding suddenly striking him. It was so clinical; he'd expected to be led into a cluttered office, or a generic meeting room with a table surrounded by chairs. Not this. This room seemed purpose-made, a starter room. It made what he was doing feel less informal, more Official. It reminded him of what a big decision it really was.
"I think this is the cleanest room I've ever seen," he observed, which was probably an exaggeration. Doctors' examination rooms were probably the cleanest rooms he'd ever been in...right? Roran liked to at least assume that they were on the same level of hygeine.
Roran made himself take a few more steps forward, eyes glued to the device that held the six promised pokéballs. "It suddenly feels like a much bigger deal than it was this morning," he found himself saying.
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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 13, 2020 15:51:04 GMT
Professor Yew The professor nodded. She could definitely understand why Roran felt that this was a big decision. "I know it can be quite intimidating. I understand if you're nervous. Just know that you can take your time deciding. And I have to say, I haven't seen a trainer go wrong yet. The truth is, any Pokemon can be a perfect partner if you love and care for it."Most of the trainers she'd helped pick starters had bonded with their new Pokemon rather quickly, even if those Pokemon had some quirks that they had to work around. Sitting down in one of the chairs, she gestured for Roran to take a seat. "Are you ready to take a look at your potential partners?"how can we claim to understand something we've never experienced?
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Roran Drossl
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New Trainer
Posts: 13
Gender: Male
Linked accounts: Antimoany
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Post by Roran Drossl on Aug 13, 2020 16:17:27 GMT
Roran started, brought back to reality by the Professor's voice. "That's a releif, I don't think there's any..." he trailed off, thinking of the old, dusty comics he'd been leafing through for the past few days. The boxes of children's novellas boxed up in the corner of a room in his parents' modest house. He recalled one he'd searched for in vain, the sixth of the series. He remembered the story distinctly, so he must have owned it once.
Our Hero Hawlucha. To an adult's mind, the titular pokémon Roran remembered was more of an anti-hero: roughing up villains and breaking any rule that didn't suit it. By all accounts, it was a very hot-headed hero and sometimes just as bad as the villains' (usually humans, but sometimes other pokémon) methods it claimed to hate.
"I'm not sure I could handle a Hawlucha," he corrected the unfinished thought, "if they're really anything like they are in kid's books."
He accepted her invitation silently, a grateful smile teasing the corners of his almost permanently-downturned mouth upwards. He wasn't normally a nervous person, largely adhering to the notion that any decision is reversible if you dislike the outcome.
"I'm ready. I'm sure there'll be someth- someone here I can love as much as they deserve."
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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 13, 2020 16:34:50 GMT
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Roran Drossl
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New Trainer
Posts: 13
Gender: Male
Linked accounts: Antimoany
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Post by Roran Drossl on Aug 14, 2020 6:42:46 GMT
Roran leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his thighs. "That's no surprise. I'll be careful." He could easily imagine the kind of harm an ill-suited pokémon could cause to its trainer...or any unwanted human, really.
He watched with rapt attention as the professor slowly cycled through his options. He only recognised two of them - Wurmple and Klink. He'd tried to get in some real, non-fiction research before arriving, but information was scattered and occasionally contradictory. How much of that could he trust?
"I've heard Klink are pretty sturdy," he told the professor, "and I'm familiar with Wurmple's evolutions - two, right? Depending on personality?" If he was right, he was pretty sure he wouldn't like one...at least not for a first pokémon.
"What can you tell me about the others? Helioptile looks interesting. I've read that most yellow pokémon are Electric-types." Or was it that most Electric-types were yellow? Roran wasn't sure he was in the best position to be guessing types - he wasn't confident at all about the other choices. Tynamo looked like it might be at home in the water, so that seemed a safe guess.
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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 14, 2020 17:58:42 GMT
Professor Yew The professor nodded. "Klink is a Steel-type -- they tend to be pretty sturdy, and they have a lot of type resistances. Depending on its personality -- we think; the mechanism is a little unclear -- Wurmple can evolve into either Silcoon or Cascoon, which then evolve into Beautifly and Dustox, respectively.
"Helioptile's typing is Electric and Normal, while Tynamo is just Electric. Morelull is a Grass and Fairy type, and Sinistea is Ghost-type. As for more information ..." The professor grabbed the tablet that hung at her hip and started looking the Pokemon up in her dex. "Morelull is a nocturnal Pokemon with the ability to put people to sleep. Hm, would be a good choice for an insomniac. Helioptile generates electricity by basking in the sun; it evolves into Heliolisk, which can be quite powerful. Tynamo has two evolutions, and the second one is quite a powerhouse. Sinistea is a lonely spirit possessing a teacup -- Ghost types are interesting because Normal and Fighting moves don't work on them at all. But Ghost moves also have no effect on Normal Pokemon, and Sinistea's only damaging move to start with is Ghost-type."how can we claim to understand something we've never experienced?
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Roran Drossl
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New Trainer
Posts: 13
Gender: Male
Linked accounts: Antimoany
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Post by Roran Drossl on Aug 15, 2020 16:35:26 GMT
Roran regarded the Professor seriously, brushing his moustache upwards from his lip with a thumb. It was a habit he'd developed early and now could not rid himself of: Feeling the stiff bristles resist the motion was grounding in some way, both a distraction from and facilitator for his own thoughts. He didn't think of it like that; it was just something his hands did without his bidding.
"Sinistea would be a challenging starting pokémon, then," he concluded, "if we came across an aggressive Normal-type we'd be in trouble..." he sighed. "It's a shame, I'd like to give such a lonely spirit a good companion. I wonder how often it's already been passed up for that reason."
He was silent for a long moment, eyes unfocused, processing.
Roran would never have guessed Tynamo is Electric. He should know better than to judge by appearances. The promise of a powerhouse was tempting...but that was very far off, and Roran needed to think about the present.
So that left Morelull, Klink, and Helioptile.
"I'm sure Morelull is a great pokémon, but I have no trouble sleeping. And for some reason..." he paused, trying to convince himself otherwise. "I feel drawn to Helioptile."
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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 15, 2020 18:21:50 GMT
Professor Yew "I'll admit, Sinistea isn't a popular pick." Which was rather sad, considering its origins, but the professor could see why it would be considered a difficult Pokemon to train. And she didn't want anyone to get in over their head, trying to take care of a Pokemon that wasn't really suited to them. Someday Sinistea would find a home. Yew nodded. "If you feel drawn to a particular Pokemon, that's a good reason to choose them. Here, why don't you let Helioptile out and see how you two get along?"She took the Helioptile's Pokeball from its cup and offered it to Roran. how can we claim to understand something we've never experienced? While we don't have to conclude this thread here, I'm going to go ahead and give you your starter's statblock. Once you copy and paste it onto your tracker, you can start making/answering other threads freely! Helioptile // Level 1 // male Max HP | Attack | Defense | Speed | 8 | 10
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Ability: Dry Skin - When Helioptile is hit by a Water-type attack, it heals 25% of its maximum HP; Fire-type attacks deal 25% more damage to Helioptile; in bright sunshine, Helioptile loses 1/8 of its maximum HP each turn; in rain, Helioptile recovers 1/8 of its maximum HP each turn Held item: none Moves: Mud-Slap, Tail Whip [img alt="Helioptile" style="max-width:100%;max-height:200px;" src="https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/helioptile.jpg"]
[a href="https://pokemondb.net/pokedex/helioptile"]Helioptile[/a] // Level 1 // male
[table][tbody][tr][td style="padding:3px;"][b]Max HP[/b][/td][td style="padding:3px;"][b]Attack[/b][/td][td style="padding:3px;"][b]Defense[/b][/td][td style="padding:3px;"][b]Speed[/b][/td][/tr][tr][td style="padding:3px;"]8[/td][td style="padding:3px;"]10 [/td][td style="padding:3px;"]8 [/td][td style="padding:3px;"]14 [/td][/tr][/tbody][/table] [b]Ability:[/b] Dry Skin - When Helioptile is hit by a Water-type attack, it heals 25% of its maximum HP; Fire-type attacks deal 25% more damage to Helioptile; in bright sunshine, Helioptile loses 1/8 of its maximum HP each turn; in rain, Helioptile recovers 1/8 of its maximum HP each turn [b]Held item:[/b] none [b]Moves:[/b] Mud-Slap, Tail Whip
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Roran Drossl
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New Trainer
Posts: 13
Gender: Male
Linked accounts: Antimoany
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Post by Roran Drossl on Aug 16, 2020 0:24:59 GMT
”That's unfortunate. I hope the right trainer for it comes along soon.” Maybe, if he were in a position to do so, that trainer could be Roran. But not now.
”Letting Helioptile out sounds like a good idea.” He was already standing, doing his best to pretend that his lower back wasn't filled with sand. Having acknowledged the draw, he found it easier to act on. Roran accepted the ball with excessive care, irrationally afraid that he might break it. Telling himself to hold it more firmly, he used a finger on the other hand to free the pokémon inside.
The light that escaped was there only for a moment, and in its place stood a solid-looking yellow lizard. The top of its round head almost reached Roran's hip, though it was larger than his own head. It blinked, cocking its head to one side. ”Eeee,” Helioptile cooed, cocking its head to one side.
”Uh...hi,” Roran greeted it, suddenly having no idea what to do. Helioptile wasn't listening; it was taking in the room, twisting first at the neck and then at the waist, keeping its hind legs still. When it had turned as far as it could, its back end spun around to catch up with the rest. ”Helioptile,” it told the machine holding the remaining pokéballs with unknowable feeling.
Roran decided to let it finish, and took the opportunity to balance the empty ball on his chair. He didn't want to startle it, and the pokémon likely wasn't expecting to be here. A thought struck him. ”How much do they remember of their life before?” Was it going to expect its old trainer?
Helioptile twisted further, completing the maneuver and facing the two humans. Roran squatted on the balls of his feet, free hand outstretched. The lizard launched forward immediately, and subjected the hand to a thorough sniffing. It examined each finger in turn, and took special interest in his glove. Apparently satisfied, it whipped its head back abruptly, and then just as suddenly brought it down again, neatly slapping one of its large ears into Roran's hand. There it waited, placidly.
Although he had almost zero expectations, this had managed to be unexpected anyway. He turned to the professor, bemused. Impatiently, Helioptile reached up with a foreleg and began stroking the outer edge of its own ear.
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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 16, 2020 15:50:53 GMT
Professor Yew "That's a good question," the professor replied. "There's evidence to suggest that Pokemon in their Pokeballs have a limited awareness of what's going on outside, so they probably know they've been in storage for a long, long time. But what they actually think, feel, and remember ... We just don't know."The professor watched the encounter with interest, resting a hand on her hip ... not far from where Absol's and Oddish's Pokeballs hung. She didn't really expect Helioptile to get aggressive -- none of the Pokemon they'd introduced so far had -- but better safe than sorry, especially with an Electric-type. She had to cover a smile, though, as Roran looked at her for guidance. "I think it wants you to scratch its ear."how can we claim to understand something we've never experienced?
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Roran Drossl
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New Trainer
Posts: 13
Gender: Male
Linked accounts: Antimoany
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Post by Roran Drossl on Aug 16, 2020 18:17:58 GMT
”That would make sense,” Roran nodded, ”otherwise releasing them into battles would be deeply confusing and shocking.” And surely the battles he'd read about would have gone very differently if that were the case. Add that to the list of things he'd never thought about before today.
Looking back down at Helioptile, he saw that it was being pretty obvious, and he was being pretty oblivious. ”I think it does,” he agreed, pressing a couple of fingers to the ear in his palm experimentally. He rubbed haltingly, afraid of applying too much pressure or being too rough. Helioptile's arm fell to its side, and it began twisting its head in his hand, trying to direct the fingers. ”Tile...” it whined, shuffling its feet closer in an act of restlessness.
Roran grew bolder, scratching with his short nails. The lizard grew still at that, and shortly closed its eyes. This human wasn't great at this, but it still felt pretty good!
To Roran, this was truly strange. Helioptile's ear had a gentle warmth to it, like the hand it rested on, but it didn't feel like skin. The texture was not something he'd ever felt before, but something about it reminded him of old books...the way yellowed pages would leech the oil right off his fingers. It was a little rougher, though, and oddly pliable. Looking down at the almost-black head, Roran soon lost himself in feeling the way the pokémon's skin slipped up and down with his nails, resisting only after a moment and allowing them to scrape against its uneven surface.
”It feels like paper,” he announced, feeling the need to express this on some level, “but chunkier.” It certainly didn't feel like skin – or like human skin.
He tried to remind himself that this was a living creature, but that only made the experience more surreal. That he was touching a living, breathing being that didn't look or act like a human was deeply alien. Somehow, pokémon had made more sense to him when they were just a fantasy. He'd had contact with a few pokémon before, but those had always been breif encounters. Even at the time, they had felt unreal, and the memories felt vague and dream-like.
Helioptile...felt real. And, apparently, needed no further scratching, for it withdrew its head, sliding its ear out of Roran's cupped palm. It turned to Yew, and, realising that it had a second option, scurried over to her. The lizard reared up, gripping her trouser leg with both front paws and trying to stretch as high as possible without allowing its back legs to leave the ground.
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Post by Professor Victoria Yew on Aug 18, 2020 18:18:16 GMT
Professor Yew The professor nodded. "Still, I wonder if the Pokemon in these balls understand how much time has passed ... If they miss their old trainers."She sighed. That was a sad thought, one of many tragedies created by the disappearance of Pokemon. People had suffered it, but so had the Pokemon themselves. "Interesting," she said, as Roran spoke of the Helioptile's skin. She smiled. "You seem to be getting the hang of it, though."Then the Helioptile came over to her. She petted its head, feeling the texture of its ears for herself as she scratched it gently. "You're right, kind of papery. I've never felt something like that before."how can we claim to understand something we've never experienced?
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